Issue Date: May 19, 2002
Pick up (a good book) where Oprah left off
When Oprah closed the book on her influential book club, others rushed to keep the national literary conversation alive. USA TODAY (usatoday.com) now recommends a new title every six weeks, and next month the Today show (today.msnbc.com) premieres its own monthly book-picks segment.
No need to wait, though. Book clubs of every imaginable ilk thrive online. Yahoo alone hosts more than 1,000, with special clubs for romance readers, sci-fi buffs and every genre in between. (Go to groups.yahoo.com and click on "Books.")
Of course, the quality of the conversation can vary. My favorite spots for worthwhile chat: the New York Times Reading Group (nytimes.com/books/forums) and Café Utne (cafe.utne.com). Both host a large selection of discussions on specific books, new and classic, plus special forums for fans of particular writers and genres.
The main reading group at the Times site chooses a new general-interest book each month (with a list of future books posted so you can read them in advance), while in other forums readers face off over new controversies (Walter Laqueur's "The New Terrorism") and timeless classics (anyone for Proust?). At Café Utne, the groups range from monthly book clubs to more general conversations about what to read: At the "Books That Changed My Life" chat, readers rhapsodize over Louise Fitzhugh's "Harriet the Spy" and Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time". Both sites require free registration before you can jump into the conversation, but posting is simple.
And keep in mind: If you don't find a group you like, it's easy to start your own club. Yahoo Groups can help you host your own biblio-babble site for friends and family or the Web community at large.
-- By Rula Razek
Illustration by Meredith Van Nest for USA WEEKEND
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